martes, 28 de abril de 2015

Rotten Nation

It was raining. The small plane taxied for
several minutes through the airport until it parked in front of a large hangar,
owned by the police. This was very uncommon, as the president had a special
building were he always arrived at after national or international tours. It
was well know but the media and the public, that he had personally being
overlooking the destruction of several drug labs in remote areas. So maybe that
was the reason why, stepping out of the plane, he only looked forward, towards
the small group waiting for him.

They walked in silence inside the hangar and
then went through a door that led into the building behind it. The president’s
assistant was in front, going up some stairs, several corridors and finally
arriving at a conference room. The president sat down in the chair in one end
of the table as the others sat in the remaining seats. Only one seat was empty.
Some mumbled trying to find out why its occupant was missing, others said
nothing. The president drank some water and waited until his assistant told him
something to the ear and then sat down in a chair in the corner, right after
closing the door.

The president stood up and looked at the eyes
of every single one of those men: the chief of police and other men of that entity,
generals of all of the military branches and also the head of the secret
police. On every single one of them rested the defense of the country, the
physical power that it had in order to maintain things as they were. The
president inhaled and then looked to the empty seat and sat down again.

-Do you guys know who occupies that
seat?

One of the generals, visibly eager to
participate in order to seem important or smart, shoot his hand up. The
president looked at him.

-That’s where General Arroyo normally
seats, the head of the aviation.

The president nodded, without saying a word.
He looked at the seat a little more then announced that General Arroyo had been
arrested during the raid against the drug cartels. Every single one of the
people present, except for the president’s assistant (the only woman in the
room), were baffled at the news. They started asking and demanding and saying
it was an outrage and how surprised they were and also hurt. The president
asked them, with a gesture of the hand, to end the noise.

Once the room was calm again, he stared
directly at the director of the police. The man was a tall, white and pink
skinned man. He looked scared as the president looked at him, with his piercing
eyes and soft breathing. None of the military men, all experience in combat and
enemies, had ever seen that look on a president or any other person. He looked
vicious and hateful.

-General
García.

-Yes,
sir? – Answered the director of the police.

-How many years have you been head of
the police?

The
man thought that was a weird question to ask but also felt more fear than
before. The president had stopped looking at him and that made him feel even
uneasier.

-I
have been in the post for almost ten years.

-Ten
years. – Said the president, in a surprisingly grave voice.

-Yes…

-Too
many?

-Sorry?

Everyone present was surprised at this
question. Some of the men tried to reply something but weren’t able to find the
words.No one would ever say that unless
they wanted to sack someone. But, then again, what reason did the president
have? And, would he only be interested in sacking one man?

This meeting had been ordered by the president
on his flight back and most men had narrowly missed his arrival, as it was
imminent. Since he had been elected, almost a year ago, he had proven to be
quite and unpredictable man. He had won narrowly in a country that normally
hated the likes of men like him but somehow, it had happened. Of course, there
had been recounts and lawsuits but nothing had moved him from remaining in power.
He had powerful enemies, namely the men that had been in power before, as he
was not the typical president.

Not only he was on the left side of the
spectrum, a “soft” left in his words, but also he was interested in preserving
culture and encourage the inner growth of the people. Some even said that was
precisely why he won: the ones always outside had chosen him in the bigger
cities and that had been enough. The military and all public forces had been
scared of him but he had went on with the recurrent struggle against the
cartels just as the others did so they had all relaxed, to this day.

-I
said, have they been too many?

-I…
I don’t know sir.

-I think it’s time to clean up,
wouldn’t you say misters?

He
said that looking at everyone in the table, and with an annoying smirk on his
face. He then turned to his assistant who instantly produced a folder with
several sheets of papers. They went through them and took out only six papers.
The woman put away the folder and went back to her chair. The president held
the sheets on his hand, looking at the men again.

-Any idea of what that is?

The
same man that had raised his hand before, raised it again:

-Our resignation letters?

The
president then laughed. It was an obviously fake laugh but it went for so long than
people didn’t know how to respond. Some of them smiled and others just trembled
in their spots.

-Not exactly. In here, I have several
names, including General Arroyo’s one. All the people listed here have been
tracked down by the secret police and we have enough proof to put them in jail.
There are some as high profile as the general and others not so much. I need
you… Well, I demand of you to clean up your mess.

He
put the papers in front of him, in a way that anyone could have taken them but
no one did. They were visibly bothered by what was happening but did not dare
to say a word.

-Any comments, gentlemen?

The
oldest one of the bunch, a general of the navy, looked straight at the
president and pointed at him, his hand shaking like mad.

-You
have no right to do that.

-Excuse
me?

-You cannot tell us what to do, not
like this! We’re not children!

The
old men had stood up and raised his voice. The assistant instantly looked to
the door, worried people might hear on the other side.

-We are older than you, more
experienced and you should take our advice instead of telling us how to run our
entities.

The
president then stood up and smiled weirdly again. It was very unpleasant.

-First,
I have to ask not to raise your voice. Second, what do you mean with “your
entities”?

-I
mean we have maintained…

-Exactly – Said the president,
interrupting him. – You have kept them going but those entities belong to the
State, to the people. You all took an oath to protect them and you work for me
and I for them. Do you understand that?

The old man sat back down. Everyone was
looking at the president as if he had gone insane but he kept his smirk on his
face and didn’t sit back down.

-Gentlemen, I repeat, I demand of you
to clean up your entities. They are rotten and you should be grateful you’re
not the ones to be sacked first. Your entities are supposed to be the ones
protecting us and making the example and that is not the case right now. You
know what we found out? Do you?

Again, no one said anything, only scared faces
looked at him.

-Several policemen involved in bribes
and corruption, navy officers helping the cartels, aviation officers bringing
whores to the compounds. Even my own personal guard has been known to film
pornographic films in State property. Do you understand how bad this is?

Some nodded, some didn’t. They looked to the
ground now, exactly like children after having been grounded.

-The
president’s before me let it all happen, let this country rot from the inside
out. I’m not going to tolerate that anymore. If you don’t put this entire
people under trial, I will. I have proofs. And if you fail to do it fast, I
have many candidates for every single one of your posts.

-But…

-But what general Márquez? But what?

But
general Márquez, of the air force, had no idea what to say next. He was as
intimidated as the other ones. As men of force, they were already thinking of a
way to keep their posts and form an opposition but then the president drew
attention back to him by coughing.

-I have a dinner to attend to with
the ambassadors residing in the country. But before that I want to warn you: I’m
decreasing the amount of money invested in the military and the police and
allocating it to education and health. Tell it to your men, the announcement
will be done tonight.

And then the assistant opened the door and the
president left, leaving the country changed and the forces of the past in a
state of induced coma.